> From: "John Boudreau" <john@newnorth.ca>
> To: <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Starting out on the cheap
> Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 11:01:32 -0700
> After reading Laura's post on homebrewing a satellite station I thought I would do a little surfing and see what is available for off-the-shelf kits to build a complete station and pass along the lin>
> Do-it-yourself HF/2m/70cm SSB Transmitter/Receiver Pair
>
> The main receiver will be this 10m receiver kit which we will use for direct 29 MHz receive and as an IF for 2m and 70cm. Cost $44.00
> http://www.pan-tex.net/usr/r/receivers/ra01000.htm
>
> We can fancy up the above with a digital frequency readout from K1MG. Cost $29.95
> http://www.blueskyengineering.com/DCC.html
Dear John,
An excellent and well thought out post!
Here's another alternative:
Find yourself a old SSB 27Mhz CB set. Years ago, we used to find these for junk, fix them up and convert them
to tunable 10 meter mobile rigs. Me and my friends removed the PLL and controlled the frequency of the VCO
by means of a ten turn pot on a vernier dial. These worked quite well for the price plus they transmitted as well.
Or you could take your old scanner off the shelf, and use it for a receiving converter.
Tap off the 10.7Mhz IF before the IF filters, and run that into a general coverage
receiver. Then tune the HF receiver.
As for my mode B and J stations gasfet pre-amps, I don't think I have over $20 in each one!
Old C band TVRO linear actuators work great for elevation control for
your antennas. No need at all for an expensive el-az rotator.
Looking for a high power 70cm amp? Next time your at a hamfest, look for an
old 100 watt FM UHF mobile radio. You can strip off the PA, add a bias
network to the PA transistors to convert it to linear operation and presto
you have a 100 watt amp for SSB.
There are a lot of fun alternatives for the builder and the experimenter
other then whipping out the credit card.
The key thing is that test gear and tools are your most important
investment if you want to do things on the cheap.
Plus its great fun to amaze your friends with homebrew equipment!
--73-- Dave WA0AUQ
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